I couldn’t agree more with what Thomas Merton says here.
“The monastery is not an “escape” from the world. On the contrary, by being in the monastery, I take my true part in all the struggles and sufferings of the world. To adopt a life that is essentially nonassertive, nonviolent, a life of humility and peace is in itself a statement of one’s position.”
Thomas Merton. Honorable Reader. Quoted in Thomas Merton In My Own Words (Liguori, MO: Liguori Press, 2007: 107.
Things like violence and domination come into a certain stark relief in religious life. Hopefully we can notice and renounce them. Thanks for the reminder.